LAST UPDATE | 1 Feb

EU LEADERS HAVE agreed a package of €50 billion in financial aid for Ukraine, the President of the European Council Charles Michel has said.

The news came out of today’s key summit in Brussels where EU leaders entered prepared to grapple for hours with Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban to try to overcome his veto on the package.

Writing on X, European Council President Charles Michel said: “We have a deal”.

“All 27 leaders agreed on an additional €50 billion support package for Ukraine within the EU budget.”

We have a deal. #Unity

All 27 leaders agreed on an additional €50 billion support package for Ukraine within the EU budget.

This locks in steadfast, long-term, predictable funding for #Ukraine.

EU is taking leadership & responsibility in support for Ukraine; we know what is…

— Charles Michel (@CharlesMichel) February 1, 2024

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the leaders’ summit today and thanked the EU for its support.

“This is a clear signal that Ukraine will withstand and that Europe will withstand,” he said via video call.

He praised all 27 member states as a whole, saying that the funding agreement was “yet another clear sign of your strong unity”. 

Today, I addressed the European Council summit as decisions on the Ukraine Assistance Fund and Ukraine Facility were being debated.

I thanked EU leaders for previous critical decisions and advocated for continued European unity and strength in the face of global competition.

🧵 pic.twitter.com/pUBcDR9ybH

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 1, 2024

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen also welcomed the deal on X, saying it was “a good day for Europe”. 

Agreement!

The European Council delivered on our priorities.

Supporting Ukraine.

Fighting illegal migration.

Supporting European competitiveness.

A good day for Europe.

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) February 1, 2024

Orban – Russia’s closest ally in the EU – sparked fury from his 26 counterparts in the EU by blocking a deal in December to keep funds flowing to Kyiv nearly two years into Moscow’s full-scale invasion.

The Hungarian nationalist has been accused of holding Ukraine’s future hostage in a bid to blackmail Brussels into releasing billions of euros in frozen EU funds for Budapest.

Arriving in Brussels last night, Orban struck a combative note, posting a photo of himself with the caption “We Saddle Up!”

EU officials had been trying to thrash out a compromise with Hungary to get agreement on the four-year package for Ukraine as part of a broader overhaul of the bloc’s budget.

One provision of the deal is a spending review to be carried out after two years if there is consensus among member states to do so. 

Today’s talks were expected to feature hours of political wrangling but a deal was swiftly announced after Orban met first with the leaders of Germany, France, Italy and the EU institutions.

“He gave some ground,” said one European diplomat. “He saw that people were growing irritated, that there was a line not to cross.”

While there was no suggestion of a direct quid-pro-quo, Orban did win assurances that Brussels would handle the question of Budapest’s blocked funds worth 20 billion euros with impartiality, the diplomat said.

“What Orban wants is not to be put in a corner,” said another European diplomat. “It was a case of give and take. This was not about strong-arming, or threats. Everyone behaved constructively.”

Last night, the Taoiseach attended an informal gathering of EU leaders in Brussels following a memorial service for the late Jacques Delors, who spearheaded the euro currency.

Speaking to reporters as he arrived at the summit this morning, the Taoiseach said there was a strong view among leaders last night that a deal had to be reached today.

“That war is now raging for two years, Ukraine will not be able to continue to defend itself without the support of the European Union, and we can’t leave them short.”

Mounting frustration at Hungary’s role as spoiler has seen calls grow for leaders to use the EU’s Article 7 and strip Budapest of its voting rights, an extreme measure that would take unanimity from the other 26 leaders.

Few have been willing to push publicly for this “nuclear option”.

When asked if stripping Hungary of its voting rights should be considered Varadkar said “hopefully it won’t come to that” and added that the Article 7 procedure is very complicated.

With reporting by David Mac Redmond and © AFP 2024